新闻周刊:美国六月节是如何从白日梦变成现实的（2）

For activist¹ Opal Lee, it was a lifelong mission—five years ago, she walked from Fort Worth, Texas, to Washington, D.C., to urge lawmakers to make it happen.

对活动人士奥帕尔·李来说，这是一项终生的使命，五年前，她从得克萨斯州的沃思堡赶到华盛顿特区，敦促议员们实现这一使命。

While the majority of U.S. states recognize Juneteenth as a holiday and most hold celebrations, a national holiday was something 94-year-old Lee didn't think she'd live to see.

虽然美国大多数州都承认六月节是一个节日，而且大多数州都会举行庆祝活动，但是94岁的李女士认为她不会活着看到六月节成为国家法定节日。

"I've got so many different feelings all gurgling up in here," Lee told CBS DFW. "I don't know what to call them all.

李告诉CBS DFW，“我现在有千万种复杂情绪在心里翻涌，我不知道怎么称呼所有的感觉。

I am so delighted to know that suddenly we've got a Juneteenth. It's not a Texas thing or a Black thing. It's an American thing."

得知我们突然迎来了六月节，我很高兴。这不是德州的事，也不是黑人的事。这是美国的事。”

The effort to designate Juneteenth as a federal holiday gained renewed attention amid a national reckoning on race after widespread protests against racial injustice² were triggered by the police killings³ of George Floyd and other Black people in the summer of 2020.

2020年夏天，警察杀害乔治·弗洛伊德和其他黑人的事件引发了反对种族不平等的广泛抗议活动，因此将六月节定为联邦假日的努力在全国范围内重新受到关注。

Nevertheless, an attempt to pass the bill last year failed after Sen. Ron Johnson, a Republican from Wisconsin, objected.

尽管如此，由于威斯康星州共和党参议员罗恩·约翰逊的反对，去年通过该法案的尝试还是失败了。

He raised concerns about the estimated $600 million cost of providing another paid holiday for federal employees.

他对为联邦雇员提供另一个预计花费6亿美元的带薪假期表示担忧。

Johnson relented this week, clearing the way for the bill's approval after it was reintroduced in Congress this year.

约翰逊本周做出了让步，为该法案今年在国会重新提出后获得批准扫清了道路。

"While it still seems strange that having taxpayers⁴ provide federal employees paid time off is now required to celebrate the end of slavery, it is clear that there is no appetite in Congress to further discuss the matter," he said in a statement ahead of the vote.

他在投票前发表声明称：“尽管纳税人为联邦雇员提供带薪休假以庆祝奴隶制结束的要求现在似乎还是很奇怪，但国会显然没有兴趣进一步讨论此事。

"Therefore, I do not intend to object."

因此，我不打算反对。”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer quickly moved to pass the measure through unanimous consent, which allows approval without a debate or roll-call vote.

参议院多数党领袖舒默很快采取行动，通过了获得一致同意的法案，这使得该法案无需辩论或记名投票就可以获得批准。

Fourteen Republicans opposed the measure in the House, but it easily passed the Democrat-controlled chamber⁵.

众议院有14名共和党人反对这项措施，但它还是在民主党控制的众议院轻松获得通过。

However, some have criticized the move as doing little to solve the material issues faced by Black people on a daily basis.

然而，一些人批评此举对解决黑人日常所面临的实质问题作用甚微。

They noted⁶ the Senate has yet to pass police reform legislation or the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement⁷ Act,

他们指出，参议院尚未通过警察改革法案或约翰·刘易斯投票权促进法，

a bill, named for the late congressman⁸ and civil rights icon⁹, that aims to prevent states from carrying out voting laws that are potentially racially discriminatory.

后者以已故国会议员和民权偶像的名字命名，旨在阻止各州实施可能具有种族歧视性的投票法。

1 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

2 injustice   

n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利

参考例句：

• They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。
• All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。

3 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

4 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

5 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

6 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

7 advancement   

n.前进，促进，提升

参考例句：

• His new contribution to the advancement of physiology was well appreciated.他对生理学发展的新贡献获得高度赞赏。
• The aim of a university should be the advancement of learning.大学的目标应是促进学术。

8 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

9 icon   

n.偶像，崇拜的对象，画像

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• Click on this icon to align or justify text.点击这个图标使文本排齐。